of the Sandstone of Ayrshire. 289 



it to the inspection of the Geological Society of Glasgow^ to whom 

 it was exhibited by JNlr. Gourlay on Feljruary 15, 1843, who 

 thus reports upon it : "A most remarkable cast of a plant was 

 lately sent me by the Rev. David Landsborough, which was found 

 in a quarry of carbonifcrovis sandstone at Stevenston, Ayrshire. 

 The specimen, when found, had a coating of coal which the quarry- 

 man unfortunately picked off with his knife, but the exposed sur- 

 face presents a very singular appearance, and is unlike any fossil 

 plant which we have ever seen figured. Its peculiar feature, which 

 is at once apparent on inspection, is its resemblance to part of a 

 common osier-basket (PI. V. fig. 3.) : hence Mr. Landsborough 

 has for some time been in the habit of humorously distinguish- 

 ing it as ' Noah's creel ' for want of a better appellation. To sup- 

 ply this desideratum in nomenclature, and as no such fossil a]> 

 pears to have been described or figured, I have ventured to name 

 it Lijginodendron Landshurgii, foi'ming the generic name from 

 Xvycvo'i, wicker-work, and SevSpov, a tree, and dedicating it by 

 the specific name to my friend jMr. Landsborough, a gentleman 

 distinguished not only as a pious and conscientious clergyman, 

 but as an enthusiastic and most successful cultivator of natural 

 history ; one, too, whose warm-hearted and amiable disposition 

 endears him to all who have the pleasure of his acquaintance. 

 The fragments of the fossil were spread over a space of about two 

 yards, the finest specimen found being about 18 inches in length 

 by 3 in breadth, and have not been observed except in that place.'' 

 He then goes on to mention some of the other productions of the 

 same quarry, in which a great many fossil fruits occur, which are 

 obviously those of a palm {Trigonocarpum olivcefonne) ; and also 

 specimens of the Sternbergia approximata, " a singular and rare 

 coal-plant,'" a fine specimen of vvhich has been deposited in the 

 museum of the '^ Andersonian Institution" by Mr. J. Craig. I 

 am happy to say I have obtained one or two specimens of this 

 curious and rare fossil (the Lyginodendron Landshurgii), which will 

 be found in the collection. Mr. Landsborough mentions that 

 only a very few specimens exist, and, as he believes, it has not 

 been found elsewhere : he discovered it in the middle stratum. 



I may dismiss the other fossils I have to exhibit to you in a 

 very few words. The principal ones are the SigiUarice, which are 

 thus described by Mr. Gourlay : — "The 'jX^eunsSigih'aria is so named 

 from sigillum, a seal, on account of the peculiar impressions on 

 the stems. Less is known of this genus than even the Calamites, 

 and similar forms are quite unknown in the vegetation of the 

 present day. They are found inclined in all directions, sometimes 

 passing vertically through beds of sandstone, but most frequently 

 in a horizontal position ; and then they are crushed so extremely 



Ann. ^ Mag. N. Hist. Vol. xiii. ' U 



